McLaren has finally put the rumours to rest, confirming plans for an SUV as part of a broader product offensive that will also bring more supercars to its line-up. The news arrives alongside a major restructuring of the brand's design and engineering operations, signalling the biggest shake-up at Woking in years.

Leading the design direction for this new generation of McLarens is newly appointed Chief Designer Kemal Curić, the man behind the McL 6GT concept. That car is already earmarked for production in 2028 as a limited-run special, giving an early hint at the aesthetic direction McLaren is heading in. Curić will oversee exterior, interior, colour-and-trim and digital design work from the brand's new Bicester Creative studio.

Sitting above him is David Woodhouse, McLaren's newly installed Chief Creative Officer. Woodhouse joins from Nissan America, where he served as Vice President of Design, and will now provide creative direction across every part of the McLaren brand, tying together design, product and identity as the company expands its range.

Underpinning this new product strategy — details of which McLaren says will emerge over the coming months — is likely to be Gordon Murray's iStream chassis technology. The lightweight construction method was acquired by McLaren's parent company CYVN back in 2023, and its influence is expected to be central to how future models, including the SUV, are engineered and built.

The scale of investment behind this push is significant. McLaren has already put money into its Car Creation Centre in Bicester, a site previously operated by Forseven, alongside a new vehicle development facility at MIRA in the Midlands. To support this growth, McLaren plans to create at least 1,000 new roles between now and 2032, spanning both full-time staff and agency workers. The ripple effect is expected to be even larger across the supply chain, with as many as 3,000 additional jobs anticipated at suppliers and partners.

Currently, McLaren employs around 2,500 people in the UK, so this expansion represents a substantial scaling-up of the business. With a dedicated Chief Designer, a new Chief Creative Officer, fresh facilities and Gordon Murray's engineering expertise all pointing in the same direction, McLaren's move into SUV territory looks set to be backed by serious investment — while the promise of more supercars suggests the brand's performance credentials won't be diluted in the process.

Source: evo.co.uk